i-Mate JAMA 101

When I receive a review handset I usually open the box and scribble down my
"first thoughts". On the bit of paper here I’ve written, "dinky" and "robust"
and "rubbery feel". Even now, several days after opening the box, I’m still
thinking the same thing. This is a solidly built handset which you’d never need
a cover for.<BR><BR>

The screen is inset slightly, giving a framed effect around it. It tends to make
the main screen look slightly small, and indeed you’d be right, It’s only
marginally smaller than the screen than the screen on a HTC Touch Dual, but the
fact it’s inset gives it a slightly smaller feel. While I’m talking about the
Touch Dual, I should mention that the i-Mate JAMA 101 is pretty much the same
size as the HTC Touch Dual. Here’s a few quick comparison shots so you can see
for yourself..

The navigation controls on the i-Mate JAMA 101 are solid and
sturdy. I particularly liked the power-button, which doubles as the "call end"
key. This makes powering / waking up the device a lot easier than devices with a
separate power button. As you can see, the navigation pad is dead centre and the
soft-keys are arranged above as you’d expect.

This is a device which is designed for heavy wear and tear. Each
key is easily accessible and the Windows, OK, call and end keys and nice and
chunky while still maintaining a rubbery feel. The navigation made is slightly
pronounced making it easy to use. As you can see below, the dimensions pretty
much match the HTC Touch Dual, however…

…the specs don’t. The JAMA 101 is powered by a 300Mhz Samsung chip running Windows Mobile 6 and there’s a “2 megapixel-effect” camera for snapping photos. No, I’m not sure what a “2 megapixel-effect” camera is, but that’s what the official specs state. The camera itself seems to go up 1600×1200 so I’m guessing it is indeed a fully-fledged 2 megapixel camera.

There’s no WiFi, no 3G and, it would seem, no EDGE either. You get tri-band connectivity and err.. Bluetooth 1.2. The lack of extra radio kit does give you a stonking 150 hours standby (over 6 days) and 4 hours of talk-time. There’s also a microSD card slot. I tried putting my 6Gb card in but it didn’t recognise it, so I doubt this supports anything over 2Gb. That’s pretty much it for the specs if I’m honest, although the official details do continue with an
increasingly desperate list which includes “an internal antenna” and “vibration for notification and incoming calls”. Err… OK then.

By now I’m assuming this is a device to keep you in touch, up to date and sync’d
with your Exchange server or home PC (provided you don’t mind the GPRS
connection-speed) whilst still being a solid phone for daily use by office
workers and brick-layers alike. Let’s have a look around the JAMA 101…

The bottom appears, at first, to be one large flap. It’s not
though, as both ends of the flap open to reveal audio and a miniUSB port. In the
centre is the microphone and reset switch. Below you might just be able to see
the 2.5mm audio port and below that there’s the miniUSB port on the right/

You should also be able to see the stylus on the right corner
here. It’s one of those retractable ones and extends to quite a long length –
it’s actually longer than the height of this handset.

On the right side there’s a camera button and the volume up /
down controls. It’s not often that you see these controls on the right, however
it works well.

Up top there’s no power button because, as we saw earlier, the "call drop"
button also doubles as the power. You can also see the LED at the top here which
indicates network activity.

On the left you’ll see a round button which isn’t actually a
button. This appears to be the external aerial connector whilst further along is
the microSD slot which, unfortunately, isn’t SDHC compatible (nothing over 2Gb).
Put an SDHC microSD card in and it’ll completely ignore it, so make so you get a
non-SDHC one.

Around the back is the camera. No flash here, but there’s a
little mirror for taking shots of yourself if you wish.

Take the battery cover off reveals .. well, the battery. Beneath
that is the SIM card.

I figured a quick video tour of the device would show the phone off best, so here’s one of our YouTube specials…

Inside

The JAMA runs Windows Mobile 6 Pro and comes with the standard assortment of Office Mobile tools (Outlook / Excel / Powerpoint and Word) to add or edit documents plus handy communication tools like Windows Live and MSN Messenger. There’s also a calculator, pictures and videos and an i-Mate wizard to help you set your email up quickly.

i-Mate have added a Profile manager within the settings tab, which lets you change your ringtone and other audio settings easily.

This is also reflected on the main home-screen, which includes a quick profile switcher. If I just click “Normal” I can easily switch the audio off (Silent profile) or, with the button next to it, switch to an automatic profile which will use the data in my calendar to change the settings when I walk into a meeting etc. There’s also a profile switch here, plus lots of relevant information relating to my messages and appointment information. i-Mate have also added in a Windows Media plug-in, so you can listen to and skip tracks easily.

As usual we’ve got Internet Explorer for browsing plus, with this being Pocket PC, there’s a stack of software you can install.

Camera

The camera quality is fairly average and, although this is a 2 megapixel shooter, I wasn’t amazed by the quality. The camera software itself is fairly standard too, and the preview window tends to show a relatively blurry image of what you’re about to snap. Being as the JAMA 101 is relatively sturdy, I decided to take it on a trip to Ikea. If a phone can withstand a journey around that shop then it should be able to withstand anything. I’ve taken all these photos on the highest resolution possible, so click each preview image to see the real shot – direct from the JAMA 101.

Conclusion

The i-Mate JAMA 101 is a fuss-free Pocket PC device. It’s small and tough and offers great phone handling and profile management. It’s also quick, and the CPU behind it ensures that everything you do is done quickly. However, this device lacks more than a little on connectivity and the camera quality is passable at best. It’s also probably a reflection on the additions brought by other manufacturers that makes this standard Windows Mobile 6 sofware seem a little plain now.

This handset is built well and is designed for the rough and rumble of the world with emphasis on battery life and sturdiness. The long stylus is obviously supplied with the “non techies” in mind and I can see this device being used in demanding environments for data collection, note taking or reporting. It’s a simple, small and smart Windows Mobile device with a price to match.